Anti-Obesity Drug Increases Heart Risks

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked the doctors to avoid prescribing anti obesity drugs containing sibutramine for patients who have a history of cardiovascular disease.

While the drug, which is marketed in Australia as Ectiva or Reductil and as Meridia in the United States, already carries a message which warns against consumption among patients with heart disease, the FDA has asked the makers to include those patients who have a history of cardiovascular disease.

The FDA conducted a study of 10,000 patients and found that cardiovascular events such as coronary artery disease or stroke occurred in 11.4 percent of the patients compared to just 10 percent among those who were taking a placebo.

The study has led the FDA to come out with a string of suggestions which includes physicians regularly monitoring blood pressure and heart rate of patients using sibutramine and discontinuing the drug if the patient did not lose at least 5 percent of baseline weight within the first three to six months of treatment.

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